Nicholas swore as Mai slowed, glancing in her side mirror. Nothing but dust. Gordon hadn’t run off the road or stopped. The idiot. She would have a few choice words to say to him when she saw him next.
“Are you all right?” Nicholas asked.
“Yeah.” She accelerated as her heart rate slowed. “You?”
“Yep. If I wasn’t awake before, I am now.”
Mai smiled. “Distracted you from the fire for a minute.”
“I could have done without the distraction,” Nicholas said. “It doesn’t look too bad though.”
“No. Hopefully whoever lit it was sensible enough to contain it.” Though if it had been Gordon, they probably weren’t that lucky.
A few minutes later, she saw for herself. In the middle of the gravel car park were the remains of a massive bonfire about two metres in diameter. Whoever had built it had piled log after log on it and they were now charcoaled remains. It must have been planned as there were no trees that size in the area. When they’d left they’d thrown a bit of dirt on it and some green tree branches, maybe with the hope of smothering it. Instead it had made the whole thing smoke and flames were flickering around the edges. If today had been windier a spark could have carried into the bush only a few metres away.
Gordon definitely deserved a visit.
The car park wasn’t more than a cleared gravel area, cordoned off from the surrounding scrub by some long, round wooden posts. It was empty except for the smoking pile of wood and leaves in the very middle of the area – a bonfire only, not the bush fire Nicholas had feared. He let out a deep breath and his shoulders relaxed. Mai had been right – it was nothing serious.
He hadn’t realised how unprepared he felt until he was in the fast attack vehicle racing towards the fire with only Mai next to him. The thought of facing a wall of flames – even prepared – was damned frightening.
It was another way he’d failed. This shouldn’t have been the first fire he attended – he’d had other opportunities but work had always come first.
Hell, the real reason he’d signed up as a volunteer was because Shadbolt had introduced a requirement that all staff had to do volunteer work – his mother’s idea. He’d attended the training sessions with his brother, but was always too busy to go to an actual fire.
And that had come back to bite him after his last development in Baldivis burned to the ground. The police had suspected arson and he’d been chief suspect with both motive and knowledge.
So when the text had come in this morning, it had seemed like a way of proving himself and the perfect excuse to get away from Mai and the attraction that pulsed between them.
That had backfired.
Mai picked up the radio. “Control, this is Blackbridge Fast Attack One, over.”
“Go ahead, Fast Attack One. What’s the status?”
“Some idiots have built a bonfire in the carpark. It’s contained, just smoking. We’ll put it out, remove the hazard and come back. No backup necessary.”
“Roger that.”
They both got out of the truck and Nicholas waited for instructions. He had no idea what he should do.
Mai circled the fire and scowled. “Someone’s been getting high.” She pointed out the empty syringes in the coals and sighed. “Grab the hose. Turn it on slowly and keep it directed at the base of the fire. It’s got a lot of pressure and you don’t want to spray the coals out of the fire.”
Yeah, the last thing he needed was to cause a real emergency.
At least he remembered how to connect the hose and turn it on. The water on the coals sent a cloud of steam into the air and the fire hissed in protest. He slowly worked his way around the bonfire while Mai patrolled the area, searching for stray coal or ash. She was focused and seemed confident in his ability to follow instructions. He appreciated that.
She returned to the fire and nodded at the soaking puddle. “We need to move the ashes out of the centre of the car park. We don’t want anyone running over it and melting their tyres.”
He shut off the hose and took the shovel she handed him. They worked together in silence, spreading the ashes over the car park, breaking up the couple of small logs of wood that were still intact and then wetting it all down again to make sure no embers remained. Next to him Mai shovelled hard, not the least bit concerned about the work. She was strong and competent, whereas his breath came in short pants and his back ached. He grimaced and kept working, trying to keep up with Mai’s pace. No way would he show her how unfit he was.
He would start a new fitness regime tomorrow.
By the time Mai was satisfied, they’d been working for over an hour and the sun beat down, its harsh rays sucking the moisture from the air. Mai stripped off her yellow jacket and a line of sweat on her white T-shirt between her breasts drew Nicholas’s eye. The T-shirt was too thick for it to be transparent but tight enough to accentuate her small perky breasts. He shouldn’t be looking.
He cleared his throat. “Are we done?” He took off his own jacket before rolling up the hose.
“Yeah.” She checked everything was packed away properly and then radioed control. “We’re all clear.”
Nicholas subtly stretched his back and shoulders. He’d be lucky if he’d be able to move tomorrow.
They got into the cab and the silence between them grew. He wanted to clear the air, to talk about the development and get things square with her.
Perhaps now was the perfect opportunity. He had the whole drive back to town with Mai as a captive audience.
He might as well take advantage of it.
As Mai drove out of the car park she asked, “How’d you like your first call out?” No question about it, he’d followed her instructions to the letter and he’d worked hard clearing the debris too. He’d been struggling to keep up with her, panting quietly and sweat pouring down his face, so she’d slowed her pace, not wanting to be responsible for him injuring himself. He would be sore enough tomorrow.
He smiled. “It was a lot better than I expected.”
Meaning it wasn’t terrifying. Those fires would come. “Most of what we get called out to are structural fires or minor blazes.”
“Not like the bush fire of twenty-two?”
Mai grimaced. OK, she deserved that. “There was a big bush fire in nineteen twenty-two and part of the town was burnt.”
“But your bakery wasn’t the last building standing?”
“No,” she admitted. “It was built from the ashes, which still makes it almost a hundred years old.”
“I would have uncovered the truth eventually.”
She nodded. “I was running on only a few hours’ sleep, and it seemed like a good way to put you off.”
“Why are you so against my development?”
She glanced at him, surprised. “You’re destroying my business.”
He shook his head. “I’m asking you to relocate it temporarily.”
She snorted. As if it was so simple. A disruption like this could be terminal.
“The additional shops will bring more opportunities into town and get rid of the eyesore of an empty block.”
“Yeah, your white monstrosity will be so much better.” She clenched the steering wheel, her shoulders tense. “Those types of concrete units don’t fit the aesthetic of the town.”
He chuckled. “You mean the architecture that has an old beach shack next to a modern mansion? That has buildings from the twenties next to brick buildings of the seventies and eighties?”
“My part of the town has heritage buildings,” Mai argued. “The least you could do is build something that fits in.” She was grasping at straws.
“So you’ve taken a look at the proposal?”
She didn’t want to admit she hadn’t. “I haven’t read it all.” Or done more than scan through the document. She’d been too tired to face it.
“Then why are you so against it?”
She’d thought he’d be smarter than this. “Because you want to close do
wn my business.”
“No I don’t. I’m offering you a place at the new premises with discounted rent.”
She shook her head. He didn’t get it. “What am I supposed to do for six months while you build?”
“I can give you a reasonable payment for loss of business, or help with relocation.”
“There are some things money can’t buy. On the Way is an institution, people travel from neighbouring towns to get my products. I can’t just close one day and reopen six months later and expect they’ll pick up where they left off. They’ll find somewhere else to go.” She’d worked her butt off every day for the past two years to make her bakery a success. She’d survived on little sleep and very little money in those first few months until word had spread. The thought of having to start again devastated her. But Nicholas didn’t need to know that. She wouldn’t show her weakness in front of him. “I have staff who need their jobs.”
“I’m sure we can work out something. Perhaps you can work from home for a while.”
She laughed, loud and disbelieving. “That would be the home you’re knocking down?”
“What?” His impression of a gaping fish gave her a certain amount of satisfaction.
“I live above the bakery.” Nicholas hadn’t done his research. Just her luck.
“Isn’t there storage space above?”
Mai shook her head. “When they were built, they were designed to have living quarters upstairs. I’ve lived there for two years. Makes the commute to work short.”
“I was told they were empty, that only two shops were leased and one lease was about to run out.”
She would definitely ban Aaron from the bakery. He could buy his bread elsewhere, the rat. “It sounds as if Aaron played us both.” It didn’t matter now. It all boiled down to one cold hard truth. “I’m the only person throwing a spanner in your works.” Her palms were sweaty. The florist next door had already told Mai she wasn’t renewing her lease.
“Yes.”
She didn’t stand a chance. Why would a developer of his reputation care about a single small business owner? How could she make him care?
Did he have a soft side?
“I’m sure when you read the proposal, you’ll find it an adequate arrangement.” His tone was all charm and confidence.
Mai felt ill.
There was nothing adequate about the situation. She would have to start again from scratch, she’d have to tell her staff that they were out of work and some of them were sole-providers for their families.
She breathed deeply to control the anger and fear, but as she drove into the fire station, she knew one thing for certain.
She was so screwed.
Chapter 4
After Mai had cleaned up from the call out, she drove to Gordon’s house. She wanted answers about the fire, and was worried about what he’d got himself into. He’d been in her class all through high school and while they hadn’t been particularly close, she wanted to help him. His old blue sedan was out the front of the modest brick and tile house so Mai pulled in. The garden was tidy, lawns had been mowed and roses were blooming in the garden beds. It was an average suburban house with no hint the occupant was breaking the law.
Gordon’s wife answered her knock.
Crap. She hadn’t thought this through, hadn’t considered she might not be able to talk to Gordon alone. “Hi, Gail, is Gordon home?”
“No, he’s taken the kids to the park. Can I help you with anything?”
“Ah, no.” What excuse could she give her?
“You’re not going to ask him to volunteer are you?” Gail demanded. “That’s way too dangerous.”
Relief filled her. “Ah, well, I heard he didn’t have a lot of work at the moment.”
“He’s fine. You better not ask him, Mai. His family needs him.” The glare could have baked bread.
“I won’t,” Mai assured her. “Nice seeing you.” Quickly she returned to her car and drove to the park a couple of blocks away. Gordon sat on a park bench watching his four-year-old daughter play on the slide while pushing his baby son in a red pram. No one else was around. Most people headed for the park by the river with the larger playground and barbecue facilities, instead of this small area that was usually used by people doing early morning boot camp.
His daughter squealed in delight as she slid down the slide. Gordon had a beautiful young family. Why was he getting mixed up in drugs? Surely there had to be some kind of legal work available to him. She wasn’t sure what qualifications he had, but maybe Kit could get him some work at her farm. But she had to get through to him, had to speak up rather than ignore the situation.
She strode over to him and sat down. “Morning, Gordon.”
Gordon winced. “Mai.”
“You want to tell me what you were doing out at Greenfish Bay?”
“Sorry about that.” He didn’t look at her.
“Sorry about what – nearly crashing into us, or starting the fire that we were called to put out?”
“The fire wasn’t me.” He held up his hands as if that was the worst of his crimes.
She raised her eyebrows. “Really? So it was a coincidence that yours was the only car leaving the area when we drove out?”
“Honest, Mai. It was already lit when I got out there last night.”
“Delivering drugs.”
“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” He folded his arms across his chest.
This wasn’t getting her anywhere. “No. You could explain yourself to Lincoln.” She didn’t want to get him into trouble, she wanted to help.
He scowled at her. “It’s no big deal. I’m offering a product same as you do.”
How dare he compare the two! Anger simmered in her belly. “My product isn’t illegal. It doesn’t ruin people’s lives.”
“Haven’t you heard of the sugar epidemic?” He smirked at her. “Besides, people choose to take it, I don’t force it on them.”
She took a long, slow breath to control her anger. “You give them access.” How could he be justifying it? He’d seen how it had affected Kit.
“I have to support my family.” His son shifted in the pram.
“By ruining other families.”
“Don’t get all high and mighty on me, Mai. Not all of us have rich parents to buy them shops.”
He had some nerve. “My parents didn’t buy me my bakery,” Mai growled. “I worked my butt off to build it up, to make it what it is.”
Gordon snorted. “Whatever. Are we done here?”
She wasn’t going to convince him, she could tell by the stiffness of his posture, his refusal to look at her, but still she tried one last time. “Meth could kill you, or one of your clients.”
“That’s why I don’t take it – I’m not stupid.”
That was debatable. “If I catch you dealing again, I will tell the police.”
“You do what you need to do.”
Frustration hummed along Mai’s skin as she strode back to her car. Gordon wasn’t her business. She should turn him in and let Lincoln deal with him.
She couldn’t though. Not with his family relying on him. She had to hope he would consider what she’d said and make some changes.
But she wasn’t quite naive enough to actually think he would.
Mai got back into her car and sighed. Today was not going well. First Nicholas and now this. She’d hoped Gordon would tell her it was a once-off deal, a New Year’s job.
But no.
He still sat on the bench, gently pushing the pram. Anyone looking would think him the perfect father, taking his kids out to play. A short, weedy guy walked his Rottweiler into the park, the dog heeling next to him perfectly. He wasn’t anyone Mai recognised, so probably a tourist down for the summer holidays. The guy’s clothes hung off him like he’d lost twenty kilograms lately, and his dark hair was dishevelled. As Mai watched he strolled over and sat next to Gordon, saying something to him.
No way.
Go
rdon had taken his kids to the park to do a deal.
Mai reached for the door handle ready to give them both a serve, but Gordon snapped to attention, tension in his every muscle.
The guy’s gaze roamed the playground, his arms along the back of the bench. Gordon kept glancing at him and it was obvious they were having a conversation that Gordon wasn’t happy about.
Should she call the police? But what could she say? By the time they got here the guy could be gone.
The man took something out of his jeans back pocket and slid it across to Gordon who took it and stuffed it in his shorts. Then the guy got up and headed towards the car park.
Their eyes met and the irritation in his froze Mai for a second, her heart pounding. Crap. What if he came over and said something to her? She seized her phone off the seat next to her and hit call on the first person in her recently called list.
“Are you back from the fire already?” Fleur asked.
Relief flooded her. “Yeah.” She let her gaze roam over the park as if she was searching for someone as the guy came closer, still looking at her. Her skin crawled. He had the intensity of a snake about to strike. “Weren’t we meeting at the park for lunch?”
“Not that I recall, but last night is a little hazy in places.” She laughed.
The guy was right outside her window now. Her skin prickled.
“We agreed to meet to go over the proposal.” She put her hand to her head, glad the guy couldn’t hear Fleur’s end of the conversation.
“We still can if you like. Shall I ring the others and you can come to my place this afternoon?”
“Sounds great.” The guy was still there, waiting. Did he want to say something to her? She couldn’t hang up yet. “How about two?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”
“Wait!” What could she say to keep Fleur on the phone? She couldn’t exactly ignore the man standing right next to her and drive off. It would be confirmation that she’d seen him and Gordon, that she was scared.
“Yeah?”
The guy moved away and Mai watched him in her rear view mirror until he crossed the car park and continued up the street. She slumped down in relief. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
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